Henry Huston Pernoll (March 14, 1888 – February 18, 1944), also variously known by the nicknames "Hub", "Piano Legs", "Jud", "Bud, "Buddy", and "Busher", was an American left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. Pernoll played professional baseball for nine years from 1907 to 1915, including parts of the 1910 and 1912 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. He appeared in 14 major league games and compiled a 4–3 record with a 3.39

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 63-2/3 inning pitched. A native of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, Pernoll also played in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

(1907–1908),

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: *Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey te ...

(1911–1913), and San Francisco Seals (1913–1915).

Early years

Pernoll was born in 1888 on the Pernoll family homestead at

Applegate, Oregon Applegate is an unincorporated community in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It is west of Medford on Oregon Route 238 and the Applegate River. The community was probably named for Lindsay Applegate, who, along with his brothers Jess ...

. He began pitching for the local team in Applegate. He then attracted the attention of the team in

Grants Pass, Oregon Grants Pass is a city in and the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, Oregon, Medford, along the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River. The populatio ...

, where he played in 1906 and 1907. He was described as "one of the best pitchers that ever threw a ball on any Southern Oregon diamond."

Professional baseball

Pernoll joined the

of the

(PCL) in July 1907. He made his debut under the name "Busher Pernoll" on July 24, 1907, shutting out the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. At the time, ''The Oregon Daily Journal'' described him as a short, stout 19-year-old who had learned to throw a curve in the mountains near Grants Pass, Oregon. Pernoll also pitched for the

Aberdeen Black Cats The Aberdeen Black Cats were a minor league baseball team, based in Aberdeen, Washington Aberdeen ( ) is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The cit ...

in 1908 and 1909. Playing against his former Portland teammates on May 20, 1909, he threw a complete-game shutout and also hit a double to bat in the winning run. He won 20 of his first 28 games in 1909, leading to a bidding war among major league teams for his services. In August 1909, the

paid $4,000 for Pernoll to join them in 1910. He finished the 1909 season in Aberdeen with a 25-15 record. In 1910, Pernoll appeared in 11 games, five as a starter, for the Tigers. In his first start, he pitched a one-hit complete-game against the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

on April 27, 1910. He compiled a 4–3 record with a 2.96 ERA in 54-2/3 innings pitched during the 1910 campaign. In March 1910, the ''Detroit Free Press'' wrote: "Pernoll is an extremely stocky pitcher, burly as George Mullin ever was before he adopted his present scheme of training. He pitches with a peculiar short jerk motion, using no body swing, but getting the speed. He does it with his muscles alone." Prior to the 1911 season, the

of the Pacific Coast League purchased Pernoll's release from the Tigers for $4,000. He returned briefly to the Tigers in 1912 and appeared in three games, all in relief, compiling a 6.00 ERA. He appeared in his final major league game on May 13, 1912. He rejoined the Oakland Oaks in June 1912. He continued with the Oaks through the 1912 season, compiling a 4–11 record in 19 games. Pernoll started the 1913 season with Oakland and ended it with the San Francisco Seals. In 39 games played for both Oakland and San Francisco, he compiled a 15–14 record in 246 innings pitched. In 1914, he appeared in 50 games for the Seals and compiled a 22-22 record with a career-low 2.09 ERA. He also pitched in 1916 and from 1919 to 1927 for the Grants Pass team with which he played at the beginning of his career.

Later years

After retiring from baseball, Pernoll lived in

. He operated the Owl Billiard Parlor in Grants Pass for 25 years starting in approximately 1919. He died from a heart ailment in 1944 at Josephine General Hospital in Grants Pass at age 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pernoll, Hub 1888 births 1944 deaths Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Aberdeen Grays players Aberdeen Harbor Grays players Grays Harbor Grays players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Portland Beavers players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players People from Applegate, Oregon Sportspeople from Grants Pass, Oregon Baseball players from Oregon 20th-century American sportsmen